OUR VIEW: Enforcement 'surge' one piece of highway safety puzzle

Massachusetts State Police say that the three-month patrol surge on Route 24 and Interstate 195 have been so successful, that they intend to maintain stepped up staffing and enforcement for weekend night shifts.

The Taunton Daily Gazette, Taunton, MA

Writer

Posted Oct. 11, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 11, 2012 at 11:23 AM

Posted Oct. 11, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Oct 11, 2012 at 11:23 AM

» Social News

Massachusetts State Police say that the three-month patrol surge on Route 24 and Interstate 195 have been so successful, that they intend to maintain stepped up staffing and enforcement for weekend night shifts.

Although state police began the stepped-up patrols in response to a string of fatal car accidents along Route 24 — primarily in the Taunton area and north — extra patrols were primarily added in the Fall River and New Bedford areas, including along Interstate 195, State Police said.

Whatever the reason for that deployment strategy, the surge has worked, state police reported on Wednesday. There were 90 arrests for operating under the influence and a whopping 2,810 written citations, including 1,448 speeding tickets, attributed to the extra patrols on these two highways.

State police presented a variety of statistics regarding traffic safety and the entire enforcement program is driven by data. Not surprisingly, a majority of the OUI arrests have occurred after the time that bars close. Of the OUI arrests, 23 occurred between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., 16 were from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. and 10 were from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m.

“One of core missions is crash and fatality reduction on roads and highways, using data driven enforcement and education,” State Police Lt. Col. Edward Amodeo said. “Enforcement programs initiated throughout our state are specifically targeted based on data designed to achieve our goals of safer roads and highways. The enforcement utilized here will act as a template for other highways throughout the commonwealth that are experiencing and increase in fatalities and motor vehicle crashes, specifically with connections to impaired driving, concerning drugs and alcohol.”

Police have noted that many of the impaired drivers were second and subsequent OUI offenders. Clearly, the results of this effort show that there are many dangerous drivers are on our roads. However, that is a problem that goes beyond weekend nights. State police have done an excellent job carrying out their enforcement and public safety responsibilities. Their enforcement template to be based on need and data makes a lot of sense. Knowing that there will be extra patrols is certainly a strong deterrent for drivers who have careless or dangerous driving habits.

However, enforcement is only one piece of the puzzle. Some of that education has been present in road signs reminding motorists to drive safely. However, given the extent of the problem, those efforts don’t go far enough. Now, it’s up to communities, along with officials, to devise ways to more effectively educate drivers and also prevent people from getting behind the wheel while impaired.

While State Police intend to step up their patrols on weekend nights and holidays, as well as increase “sobriety checkpoints,” it may be tempting for officials to see such patrols and other aggressive, invasive enforcement mechanisms as an easy revenue maker. Therefore, a fair share of that revenue ought to go toward funding motorist educational and impaired driving prevention programs. That includes “Safe Ride” programs, designated driver programs, and public transportation options that are virtually non-existent in our area.

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Massachusetts State Police have done a great service to our region by helping to make our dangerous highways safer during the most dangerous periods for driving. But the root problems behind dangerous and impaired driving extend well beyond weekends and holidays. With the enforcement mechanisms in place, the missing piece of the puzzle is education and prevention. Once those pieces are together, Massachusetts highways can truly become safer. That will help save lives 24/7, 365 days a year.